The Things That Haunt Us
by FreelanceDreamer
Summary: Early in their relationship, Myles' past comes back to haunt him and his relationship with Danielle. With so much on the line will they be able to work through the problem? Or will their relationship fall apart?


**A.N. **So here's we are with my third installment in my Myles/Dani series. I realize that I kind started at the beginning and am working my way back but this is the earliest in their relationship of the three. If it gets to be too much I'll put a timeline on my profile but I think it's okay for now. Thank you to everyone who reads/review/follows/favourites my stories about this couple, it's greatly appreciated. Enjoy.

* * *

There was a reason for why Myles hated Mondays. The more he thought about it, the more reasons he could come up with until he was sure that he would be able to fill a few pages of a notebook with all the reasons. Currently the office was far noisier than it usually was the first day of the week and given the time of year there was only one explanation: the FBI's annual agent appreciation dinner. As the title suggested the dinner was an annual way of acknowledging the hard work of all the agents who worked for the bureau; and normally Myles would have been happier for its arrival – after all he had enough experience and skill to be one of the more valued agents.

There was only one thing that made this year different from all the others, and that was because this year he would be accompanied by a woman.

He could already see the grins and hear the cat calls from his coworkers – although they had the potential to be serious and disciplined the majority of the time they preferred not to bed. And that was what he was afraid of.

He hadn't exactly thought everything through when he'd invited her, she worked for the FBI and would be there regardless. She'd agreed immediately and then had done exactly what he'd figured she would have – worried about clothes. It had been amusing to watch her fuss, he was still trying to figure her out and prior to that night he would have figured that she wasn't one to care about clothing. When she'd calmed down she mumbled something quickly about having to look good enough to stand next to him and that had been the last conversation they'd had for the night.

Myles was startled out of his thought when Bobby Manning perched on the edge of his desk, twirling his pen between his fingers.

"What's up Myles? Trying to come up with a good acceptance speech? No! I know what it is: trying to come up with a good congratulations for our mate Jack when he wins again?"

Out of the corner of his eyes Myles saw Jack turn bright red and try and hide his face behind his computer, although the younger man liked to act with bravado he had been known to be easily embarrassed.

Myles rolled his eyes, "Everyone knows that the awards they give out are not an exact representation of the best field agents. After all even _you _have won one."

Myles easily dodge the pen that came flying in his direction and interjected when appropriate in the ensuing banter. Despite the fact that he pretended not to, he did enjoy some of the antics that went on in the office. It was very easy – too easy to get wrapped up in all of the bad things that were dumped onto their plate every day. It was nice to have a distraction every once and a while.

"So Myles will you be bringing anyone with you this year?" Lucy asked snickering.

"That's none of your business." He answered.

"Is there something you're not telling us Myles?" Dimitrius asked and Myles resented the grin on his face. Sometimes the man was too perceptive for his own good.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" he mumbled.

For a brief moment he thought that maybe, just _maybe_ they were going to let him off the hook and go back to work but as everyone continued to stare at him he reminded himself to never start gambling.

"Yes," he sighed, "Yes I will be accompanied by a woman for the dinner. Not that it's anyone else's business."

Bobby was the first one to crack, clapping Myles over the shoulder hard enough to disrupt his signature on the file he was working on. As soon as everyone else had picked their jaws off the ground they fired questions at him.

"Who is she?"

"When did you meet her?"

"What's she like?"

"_How_?"

He tried dutifully to remain on task but everyone had since come to crowd around his desk and wait expectantly. He really didn't want to tell them anything about Danielle, especially seeing as she worked for the Justice Department and in the same building as they did. If he was lucky enough that no one to recognize her name if anyone did a quick search they would find out. The last thing he wanted was for her to get harassed by the likes of Bobby Manning or Jack Hudson.

Closing the file he glared at them, "I don't know why you're all so interested in who I'm bringing to dinner."

Jack smirked, "Because if she's crazy enough to go with you we might need to be worried."

Myles huffed, "That's absurd."

"Then why won't you tell us he name?" Sue asked, her grin as wicked as the rest of his coworkers'.

Myles sighed, "Her name – if you must know – is Danielle Westlake."

"Wait a minute," Dimitrius interrupted and Myles dreaded what was to come, "Did you say Westlake?"

"Yes," Myles answered slowly.

"She doesn't happen to work for Mark Cahill does she? Third floor?"

The amused look on Dimitrius' face didn't make Myles feel any better, the older man was enjoying his suffering as much as everyone else.

"She works here?" Tara asked.

Myles couldn't remember the last time he'd wanted to crawl into a hole but it was definitely becoming a viable option.

"Anyone else thinking of going out for lunch?" Bobby asked. "Maybe we could go ask our friends on the third floor is they want to come."

"You'll have to work through your lunch hour at this rate."

"Alright alright," Jack called out effectively getting everyone's attention. "Myles does have a point. Let's get back to work."

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Well I am currently dressed in a robe."

Myles smirked and poked his head into the bathroom while simultaneously fixing his tie. "That's not what I meant."

Danielle met his gaze in the mirror at she straightened a strip of hair at her temple, "You don't say. The thing is, you tend to exaggerate-"

"I do no such thing."

She rolled his eyes and continued, "So I'm not sure what to expect. You make your coworkers sound like Satan's minions and speaking from personal experience I'm inclined to believe they're not."

"Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't"

Stepping into the bathroom to appraise himself in the mirror, he pretended to straighten his suit jacket as his snuck looks at the woman next to him in the mirror. It still struck him as ridiculous that he'd worked in the same building – albeit on different floors – with the woman. Despite what she liked to believe, she was anything but unremarkable to him. Her porcelain skin was complemented nicely by the soft blonde locks that fells just below her shoulders. Her hair was light enough that it curled at the tips, something he adored but that she thought needed to be tamed as was evidenced by the fifteen minutes she spent straightening it whenever they went out to dinner.

Other than sharing the same hair colour – which was only true when using the umbrella term of blonde – they also shared the same eye colour. Most of his life Myles had spent believing that his eyes were blue. It wasn't until he'd started dating Danielle that it had been revealed to him that his eyes were bluest when he first woke, and that in the sunlight they looked green but in artificial lighting they looked gray-blue. At first he'd thought it strange that Danielle would spend countless minutes looking at his eyes, she'd been fascinated with them, but now he appreciated that she'd taken the time to learn small details like that about him.

Her eyes never seemed to change colour. Of course he realized that the lighting changed them but when he factored that in he'd never once seen them change. It had taken him months to finally come up with a good enough comparison for what the colour of her eyes were. Her eyes were blue, but more specifically they were the colour of snow at night – the kind of blue that was captured in landscapes of snow covered hills on the fringes of where the moonlight shone on the ground. When he'd told her that she'd laughed, but he hadn't missed the happiness in her eyes. It made him realize that he'd paid her on of the best compliments he could have ever done to her, his attention.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked, pulling him out of his daydreaming.

"Hmm. Well I'd prefer a dollar…"

"A compromise then: a kiss?"

He grinned and looked down at her. There was a very noticeable height difference between them. At six feet three inches he towered over her five feet four inch self and they'd yet to decide whether he was abnormally tall or she was shorter than average.

"I guess I could be willing to compromise," he drawled.

He protested when she grabbed a fistful of his tie and pulled him down to her level, it wasn't like he was particularly attached to the thing but it wasn't cheap fabric and he didn't want any damage to it before they left the house.

"Don't worry," she murmured. "It doesn't match my dress anyways."

Taking full advantage of his compromise he enjoyed the slightly dazed look in her eyes when he pulled away.

"Wait a minute," he said, "I thought your dress was red."

She arched an eyebrow, shaking her head. "My dress is _blue_. The same colour it was when you hung it on the back of the door an hour ago."

Checking behind the door to make sure he was dumbfounded to find a royal blue evening gown hanging in stark contrast to the white door.

"Don't worry Myles. This kind of thing isn't unusual for someone your age," she joked.

"Someone my…_excuse me?_"

She didn't even make the door before he'd grabbed her pulling her tight against him, exploiting the only weakness available to him at the moment – the fact that she was incredibly ticklish.

"Myles!" she gasped in between bouts of laughter. "Stop!"

"Take it back!" His shifted his position to get a better grip as he continues his relentless assault on her senses.

When he finally released her her face was so red he almost felt bad. The phrase 'if looks could kill I'd probably be dead' jumped to mind as he all but cowered under the intensity of her glare.

"I…should go get another tie," he said quickly and slipped out of the bathroom before she could say anything or strangle him like he thought she might want to.

* * *

"Oh God this is going to be so awkward," Danielle complained as Myles pulled into the parking spot outside the convention center that the dinner was being held at.

"Tell me about it," he responded. "First time in years I bring a date to the dinner and we won't even be sitting at the same table."

"You know that Nevaeh would kill me if I left her alone at the table. She'd be the only girl there, I couldn't do that to her."

"Have you met Bobby Manning?"

"Nope! But I'm planning to change that tonight," she said with a waggle of her eyebrows before opening the door and getting out of the vehicle.

It didn't take long to push away any dread he had of Danielle meeting the rest of the team when he got another eyeful of her in that dress.

After all the time she'd spent straightening her hair she'd spent the next half and putting her hair up. The majority of her strawberry blonde hair was up in a hairstyle that she'd described as a messy French twist although the words meant nothing to Myles. She'd accessorized sensibly, she wore a simple white bracelet on one arm and the golden-chained necklace he'd bought her for the occasion.

The dress itself was beautiful. A long blue gown that banded high on her waist and was lace above that. He hadn't know what to say when she'd mentioned that her dress had sleeves but the laced three-quarter length sleeves were tasteful and added to the allure of the dress. It wasn't particularly low-cut (for which Myles was glad) but enough skin was shown that he knew she was going to turn some heads, the same way his had when she'd come out of the washroom at first.

"Oi, space-case you ready to go in? It's getting kind of cold out here."

Myles made a face at the nickname but said nothing as he walked around the car and offered her his arm. When he felt the weight of her arm over his he took a deep breath before heading towards the entrance. He wasn't sure how many members of his team were there already but he wanted to make sure that they knew he was there.

* * *

"I have a bone to pick with you missy. Why – out of all the men on Earth – would you chose Myles Leland?"

Danielle couldn't help but laugh on the incredulous look on Tara Williams face. After the formalities and the dinner the night was pretty well free for everyone to do as they pleased and Danielle had taken the opportunity to slip over to Myles' table and meet everyone there. She hadn't believed him when he'd complained about endless teasing that he endured at work but when she approached she could hear them joking about how the award that year had gone to Dimitrius Gans and not Myles.

After the introductions, Dimitrius and Bobby had gone to take their respective companions for a dance and Myles and Jack has disappeared to what Danielle could only guess was the bar which left her alone with the women that Myles worked with.

"You know he's not really that bad," Danielle protested. "He's a nice guy – a little rough around the edges and I think I could do without the flagpole in the front yard but I don't have a lot of complaints."

"But, it's…_Myles._"

Danielle inclined her head and took a sip of her water, "I don't know what to tell you."

"Well how did you meet?" Lucy Dotson asked.

Danielle could feel her face flush and knew by the way that the other women laughed that they had noticed her embarrassment.

"Okay now _that's _a story I definitely want to her," Lucy prodded.

"Maybe another time." The voice made Danielle start but she recognized it instantly, Myles' baritone was one she wouldn't readily forget.

She turned to look over her shoulder at him, she wasn't sure exactly what it was that made him look particularly handsome that night. He wore suits every day for work but she could tell that the one he was wearing was one he reserved for special occasions. The suit jacket and dress pants were so black the colour looked depthless, pressed to perfection Danielle couldn't spot a wrinkle even though he'd been wearing it for a few hours. It was a great contrast for white dress shirt and the blue tie that he wore to match her dress.

"Another time?" She asked. "What is this time reserved for?"

He shrugged simply before offering a hand, "A dance perhaps?"

Ignoring the whistles and murmurs from the women behind her Danielle placed her hand in Myles and let him lead her to the dance floor. It wasn't until he had one hand around her waist and her hand in the other that she began to rethink her decision.

"Maybe this wasn't the best idea," she said.

He raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing.

"I can't dance," she admitted.

He smile was slow and he pulled her closer, moving slowly at first and guiding her through a pattern of steps he learned as a child.

"Looks like you're dancing to me," he said after a moment.

She smiled and moved the hand that was on his shoulder to rest on the side of his neck in an affectionate gesture before moving back to its original position.

"Where did you learn to dance? This, of course, assuming that you can do more than this shuffle that we're doing now."

"My mother enrolled me in dance lessons as a child. My sister and brother as well but I think I enjoyed it more than they did. Either way after years of lessons I've gotten pretty good."

"You never talk about your family," she said quietly, "What are they like?"

She laughed when he spun her, pulling her gently back to him although she suspected that he did it to give him a chance to gather his thoughts.

"Fancy, Agent Leland."

He winked. "I am to please Agent Westlake. There really isn't much to tell about my family, and if I'm being honest it's not something I'd like to get into right here, but maybe some other time?"

"Sure," she agreed.

They danced in relative silence for the remainder of the song, she admired the way that he seemed so confident in his actions. Even though the dance they were doing was simple Danielle still found herself looking down at her feet from time to time.

"You're looking at your feet again," he chided gently.

"I keep tripping."

"You're tripping because you're looking at your feet. Relax Danielle."

She sighed and look back up at him, there was still hints of amusement on his face but he hid it rather well. She was about to say something when he changed the pace of their dancing. He moved fast and turned quickly leaving Danielle with the only option of tightening her hold on him and trying to predict and match his footwork.

"What the hell was that?" She asked when he slowed down again.

He grinned, "A little intermediate level dancing, but you didn't trip."

"Sometimes I hate you more than usual."

He laughed and kissed her quickly as the song ended, "I can handle sometimes. Do you want to go again?"

"A drink sounds a little more appealing after that. My dance card is still empty for later though."

"I shall hold you to that."

Taking a seat at the bar Danielle searched for Myles amidst the crowd as she waited for her dink. It wasn't too hard to spot him – the blonde hair was a dead giveaway – and she could see that he had gone back to sit with his team. From watching them interact Danielle knew that even though they annoyed each other they were like a family and if anything were to interrupt that dynamic Myles would be upset.

"Hey!"

When Danielle spotted the source of the greeting she smiled and waved, "Hey Nev! What have you been up to?"

Nevaeh Wilcox grinned, "Not as much as you by the look of it. Nice dancing out there."

Danielle laughed, "It was all Myles, the man can dance."

"You'd never imagine given the size of the stick up his-"

"Nevaeh!"

"What?" her best friend asked incredulously "Danielle you can screw the guy all you like, you cannot deny that he's got about as much spice as a banana."

Danielle rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink, "Well I beg to differ. Anyways did I see you hanging out with the rest of Hudson's team?"

"Yeah." Nevaeh answered and Danielle furrowed her brows. Normally the woman sitting across from her could talk the night away but when she'd brought up the topic of Myles' team her friend had gone quiet.

"What is it?" Danielle asked.

Nevaeh shook her head, "Nothing…it's nothing."

"You're a horrible liar. Want a drink and we can go find somewhere to talk?"

"What about Myles?" Nevaeh asked.

Danielle shrugged, "What about him? Let's go."

They found a seat away from everyone else that was quiet enough for them to have a conversation.

"Alright spill it," Danielle demanded, looking at her friend carefully.

Nevaeh sighed, "Alright. You know that woman Lucy that worked with Myles?"

"Yes, she's nice."

"Yeah she is…did you know she and Myles used to be in a relationship."

Danielle felt her eyebrows hit her hairline, "No I didn't but it's not a big deal. Lucy doesn't really seem like the jealous type if that's what you're getting at."

Nevaeh ran her fingers though her hair, "No, that's not what I was getting at. We were talking and it just happened to come up that their relationship didn't exactly end well…"

"Nev you're killing me here. Of course not all relationships end well, just ask me about my last three."

"He cheated on her Dani."

Danielle blinked, tilting her head, "He what?"

Nevaeh frowned, "I'm sorry. I wasn't sure whether or not to tell you but you're my friend and I don't want you to get screwed around by some guy."

Danielle exhaled heavily, "Wow…Well no wonder he never mentioned it."

"You two look good together though, and I'm sure it's not a habitual thing. Lucy told me that he apologized for the whole thing."

"Not helping."

"Sorry."

Finishing the remainder of her drink in one go Danielle considered her options. She couldn't act like she didn't know, she wouldn't be able to do it and it would only make her resent him. She wasn't about to ruin his dinner though, even if she did want to ask him about it. That brought up another problem entirely, how did she address his past? Even though she hadn't Danielle felt like she'd somehow invaded his privacy.

"What do I do Nev? I don't want to me the paranoid, suspicious girlfriend who goes through her boyfriend's phone looking for a motive."

Nevaeh shrugged, "Talk to him Dani. Don't freak out over nothing, it's not worth throwing away what looks to be a good relationship."

Danielle nodded, "You're probably right. Thanks Nevaeh."

"Anytime. If he steps out of line though let me know and I'll talk to him."

Danielle laughed, "Will do."

Leaving the table it took Danielle under a minute to spot Myles. She was sure it was her imagination but he looked different.

She was headed over to him when Lucy cut her off.

"Hey," Lucy said. "I saw you talking to Nevaeh and I'm pretty sure I know what you were talking about."

"Yeah but don't worry about it. I'm kind of glad to know."

Lucy put out an arm to stop Danielle from going anywhere, "I know but listen: Myles is a really good guy. I mean sure he's not very…polished but he means well and is loyal to a fault. What happened between me and him is in the past and he apologized and I forgave him. Besides I've seen the way he looks at you, he never looked at me like that."

Danielle smiled softly, "Thanks Lucy. That means a lot, really."

Leaving Lucy behind Danielle felt a little better, but her chest still felt heavy as she approached Myles and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey," he greeted, "Come back for that dance?"

She smiled, "Sure. One more couldn't hurt."

He laughed and led her back to the dance floor, some of the dance floor had thinned out but there were still quite a few couples dancing. When he started to move Danielle was ready, and it was much easier to keep with him the second time around.

"You've gotten better," Myles praised.

"Watch out Ginger Roberts," she murmured.

He gave her a confused look, "Are you alright?"

She shook her head to try and shake away her wariness, "Yeah. I think I'm just getting a headache."

He frowned, "Do you want to go? Nothing else is going to happen and it's getting late anyways."

"No, Myles we can stay if you want. I don't want to drag you away from your friends because of a headache."

He waved his hand dismissively, bringing their dance to an end. "Nonsense. Come on, let's get out of here."

As always Myles was quick and efficient and they were back in his car in under fifteen minutes.

"Do you need anything? We can stop at your place."

Danielle was tempted to tell him to drop her off but she suppressed the answer and instead shook her head, "No thanks. I saw some Advil in your medicine cabinet that should help."

She hadn't been lying about the headache. She could feel it radiating in her right temple although she wasn't sure that narcotics were going to help the headache that she was getting. Letting her head drop back against the head rest she closed her eyes and focused on the movement of the car to distract herself.

She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew Myles' hand was on her knee and he was calling her name softly. She let him open the door and help her out and she was glad that there wasn't much conversation happening, it gave her some time to think.

The first thing she did when she got into his home was change. She didn't really feel like putting her jeans back on so she opted for a pair of Myles' sweatpants and her own shirt even though it seemed counterproductive to be wearing his clothes during the conversation she was about to start.

It took longer to take her makeup off and undo her hair but when everything was done she felt little more human again. When she returned to the bedroom she found that he'd set a glass of water and a couple Advil on the bedside table. She just finished the glass of water when he came out of the master bedroom.

"Feeling any better?" He asked.

"I just took the Advil so it'll take some time. Can we talk?"

"There's a sentence no guy likes to hear," he joked but nodded nonetheless and took a seat on the bed next to her. "What is it?"

"Lucy…" Her sentence fell flat when she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Oh," he sighed. "How much did she tell you?"

"Nothing actually, she told Nevaeh and then it was relayed to me."

His silence and the fact that he was so stiff she thought he might break something told her all she needed to know.

"Here's the thing, I've been cheated on and it is literally the worst feeling in the world. I would take a break up any day over being cheated on."

"Danielle I would never-"

She held up a hand to silence him, "I'm not saying you would but right now I'm just trying to process everything and to be honest I'm having a hard time. Lucy told me that you apologized and that she forgave you but I think I just need some time."

He looked at her and the look in her eyes was so devastated that she had to look away.

"What are you saying?" He asked hoarsely.

"I don't want to break up…because I really think I was falling in love with you. And maybe I still am but I just need to be away from right now."

She didn't miss the shock on his face but everything she'd said had been true. She didn't really want to be away from him but he was muddling her thoughts and she needed to be alone to quiet her mind. She knew that if she stayed that should would drive herself crazy, at least if she put some space in between them she could come to a decision without any interference.

"I think I should go," Danielle said when he didn't respond.

Pushing herself off the bed she gathered her dress and the rest of the beauty products she'd brought with her. Stuffing her feet into her boots she quickly put on and zipped up her jacket.

She had her hand on the doorknob when she felt a hand on her elbow. He kissed her so quickly she could do nothing other than kiss him back and try to resist all the urges within her that told her to go back to bed with him and forget everything that had been revealed that evening.

"I'll make sure to return your pants," she murmured quickly after she'd pulled back and slipped out the door.

* * *

Myles went to work the following week feeling lower than he had in long time. He hadn't heard from Danielle all weekend and as much as it had killed him he hadn't tried to contact her. In retrospect he realized that he'd been a fool to think that he would be able to hide such a thing from her and he understood her apprehension; he wasn't sure if he'd be willing to see someone who had a history of infidelity – even if it was only once.

Stepping out of the elevator he went to his desk without saying a word. He was early and he was grateful that he appeared to be the only one inclined to be so on the first day of the week. He wasn't looking forward to the day, at least when he was at home he didn't have to deal with the fact that Danielle was in the same building. It was both tempting and frightening to know that she was going to a five minute's trip away from him for most of the day.

He was finally settling into a good rhythm when Bobby walked in.

"Morning Myles! In early on a Monday? That's new, even for you."

Myles acknowledge Bobby with a wave and went back to his work, he wasn't in the mood to deal with the larger than life Australian.

"I gotta say mate, you're a lucky man. Danielle is a hell of a woman."

"Yes she is," he responded evenly before going back to work.

Myles wasn't sure why Bobby didn't press the issue but he was happy when the man took a seat at his desk and started on the stack of files scattered everywhere. Within the hour the rest of the team had trickled through the door, almost everyone with a large coffee in hand.

By the time lunch rolled around Myles was glad for the break. The majority of the morning had been spent trying to dig up leads and find anything they'd missed that would get them a guilty verdict on the case they were working. It was the most infuriating part of the job for Myles, having to spend time looking for evidence when he – and everyone else – knew who the guilty party was.

The elevator doors were closing when a hand was thrust in between them, and when the doors opened enough Lucy stepped in. He said nothing as the door closed and Lucy pressed the ground floor button reflexively even though he'd already done so.

"I think I may have inadvertently told Danielle about what happened between us," Lucy said after a moment.

"That's what I was told."

She frowned, "It was malicious Myles, and I hope I didn't mess anything up."

He laughed in a hard bark, "Considering I've haven't seen or heard of her since Friday? I'm not so sure about that."

He didn't wait for her answer when the doors opened, taking the first opportunity to leave the confined space – and Lucy behind. Unfortunately he underestimated he stubbornness and he hadn't gotten very far before she was in front of him.

"This isn't my fault Myles, she deserved to know the truth."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But she deserved to hear it from me, not through some third party at a dinner."

"You don't think she'll come back?" Lucy asked.

He shook his head, "I don't know. Now if you'll excuse me."

He didn't want to take his anger out of Lucy, he'd already hurt the woman enough in the past but he knew that is he stayed that he was going to say something he would regret.

* * *

Two days later Myles still hadn't heard anything from Danielle. The week seemed to drag by, even the people at worth were giving him a wide berth. He wasn't sure if Lucy had said anything but either way no one seemed to bug him. When he got home that night there was a plastic bag on sitting on the ground outside his door and when he opened it he found the sweatpants that Danielle had worn the night she'd left.

"I thought you might want them back."

Myles turned so fast he almost threw himself off balance. "Danielle!" He exclaimed softly.

"Hi," she said quietly. She looked tired, but Myles imagined that he did as well.

Picking up the bag he gestured towards the door, "Do you want to come inside?"

She nodded, "Please."

Unlocking the door, he held it open for her before locking it behind him. It was the most natural thing in the world to him as he took of his jacket and shoes and took a seat across island in the kitchen from her. They'd spent many mornings in the same position, just under different circumstances.

"Do you want anything to drink?" He asked to break the ice.

"No I'm alright thanks."

He nodded, "How have you been?"

Danielle shrugged, "Okay I guess," she laughed, "Well actually I'm exhausted."

He chuckled, "I know that feeling."

She tapped her fingertips on the top of the island and the sound was unnerving to Myles.

"I think," she started, "that I'm going to stay."

He didn't say a word as he waited for her to continue. With his luck he'd open his mouth and make the situation worse.

"But Myles I just don't know. The trust that I had in you is waning but it's been really hard these past couple of days without you. Truth is: somewhere along the line you became my best friend and I don't want to lose that…I don't want to lose you."

Myles felt his brows furrow in confusion when he started to laugh, "What?"

"That is so…_not_ what I planned to say. I think we might actually need some wine to go with that cheese."

Myles laughed, "I will admit that it was a little cheesy, but I'm glad you said what you did. I'm sorry that I put you in this position. I tried to imagine what I would do if our roles were reversed and to be honest that's why I'm so surprised that you're here."

"I wasn't going to if we're being honest."

"Oh?"

"I was just driving around after work trying to blow off some steam and I ended up here. Force of habit I guess."

He couldn't deny that the knowledge that driving to his home was ingrained into her made him a little happy.

"So what now?" Myles asked.

She sighed, "I don't know."

"You don't trust me."

"Not as much as I did, no. I've spent the past four days trying to figure out if there was ever a time in our relationship when you were cheating on me."

"Never." His answer was immediate.

She smiled weakly, "I know that. But even when I'd realized that I still couldn't stop wondering and I don't know if that's fair to either of us."

"You don't think we could work past it?"

"I think I'm scared of what it would take to try."

Myles felt his eyebrows shoot up, "After all we've been through you don't think we deserve at least a little effort? I can't believe that."

When she said nothing he shook his head. "You told me Friday night that you were falling in love with me. If you can tell me right now that all of those feelings are gone then you can walk out that door and out of my life. If not, then what have we got to lose by trying?"

He knew that she was considering his offer by the way she looked at him and chewed on the inside of her lip; he'd seen her do it countless time when working on case files and filling out the crossword puzzle on the weekend.

"Okay," she said finally.

He smiled and nodded, "Okay."

* * *

The next morning Danielle couldn't figure out if her chest felt lighter of heavier than it had the previous day. After she'd agreed to continue her relationship with Myles she'd left; the atmosphere around them was still awkward but she still couldn't think straight with him in the room.

She barely closed the door on her car before Nevaeh was badgering her.

"So?" Nevaeh asked.

Danielle tilted her head, "So what?"

"Don't you 'so what' me Westlake. You went to see Myles last night. Spill."

Danielle shrugged, "I went back to him."

Her best friend frowned, "You don't sound so happy about it."

"I don't know how to feel right now Nev, I want things to go back to the way they were but I don't think they can. Not any time soon at least."

Nevaeh nodded, "That's understandable. You could always…start over I guess."

Danielle arched an eyebrow, "Start over?"

"I don't know. Go on a date or something, take some of the pressure off. You're trying to jump back into your relationship with Myles but you need to rebuild the trust you had in him. Why not remind yourself of why you trusted him to begin with?"

Danielle laughed and looked at her friend incredulously, "You surprise me sometimes you know that?"

"I have my moments."

Danielle draped an arm around Nevaeh's shoulders as the two walked from the parking lot to the building. "That you do," she said. "Now why don't we try using some of that genius at work?"

* * *

"Well that wasn't a bad second first date," Myles said offhandedly. He walked at a slow pace beside Danielle, her arm through his as they walked to her apartment from the restaurant. He'd been surprised when she'd asked to go on a date but as the night had progressed he'd begun to realize what a good idea it had been.

"Better than our actual first date anyways."

"The spill was an accident."

"That had been a new dress that I'd bought specifically for the date and you spilled red wine on it."

He grinned sheepishly, "I did apologize. Besides I guess everything worked out for the better, we've done pretty well – current predicament notwithstanding.

Danielle nodded and leaned into his shoulder briefly, "I think so. I also think that this is a good place to start."

He inclined his head, "I feel 19 again, walking home from my date with the pretty girl, wondering if a kiss is in my future."

She laughed, "Subtle Agent Leland."

"It's my specialty."

She smirked, "Don't I know it. Well this is me," she said gesturing towards the apartment building.

"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked.

Danielle shook her head, "I think I can man the elevator on my own. But thank you. Lunch tomorrow?"

"The café around the corner?"

"Of course."

Myles smiled, "Sounds like a date."

She didn't even give him the chance to lean down. Grabbing on the lapels of his jacket she pulled him down for the kiss he'd been wanting since that Friday night. Pulling her tight against him he felt her hands in his hair and her nails against his scalp sent shivers down his spine.

She pulled away, and he could see the blush in her cheeks.

"So…tomorrow?" She asked breathlessly.

He cleared his throat and bobbed his head, "Tomorrow."

Myles watched her until she got into the elevator and the doors closed behind her before walking to his car. Although the situation wasn't what he'd hoped it was better than he'd feared. He tried not to hold his breath because he knew that it would take a lot of work and effort before they got back to the way there were.

He'd been just about to pull away from the curb when his phone vibrated and he paused to check the message before he started his drive home.

_Had a great night. See you tomorrow. Sweet dreams. – Danielle_

Grinning Myles put his phone back into the inside pocket of his jacket. A lot of work and effort yes – but something he was more than ready to get started on.


End file.
